MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon. I will go straight to your
questions -- I have nothing to begin with today. Go ahead, Helen.

Q The President is very dedicated to seeing that U.N.
resolutions are implemented. Is he going to work to get the U.N.
resolution to calling on Israel to tear down the wall built on
Palestinian land -- is he going to work for that?

MR. McCLELLAN: What he's going to do is continue to work for a
political solution to --

Q I asked a different question.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- the situation in the Middle East. The United
Nations resolution that you referred to, as you're aware, is not
binding. We did express our concerns about that at the United --

Q Whether it's binding or not, it's a resolution, it is the
U.N. and there have been several.

MR. McCLELLAN: Okay. I would like to respond to your question,
and I'm trying to. The United Nations resolution that you referred to
was not binding. We expressed our concerns about it, about it being
one-sided. And we've also made it very clear that we believe the way
to resolve the situation in the Middle East is through a political
solution. And the road map is what has been put forward to get us to
the political solution. The solution that the President proposed, of
two states, living side-by-side in peace and security.

And the Quartet endorsed that road map as the way to resolve this
--

Q The road map has nothing to do with this fence being built on
Palestinian land, 400 miles.

MR. McCLELLAN: Okay. I'm going to finish here and then I'm going
to move on. The President has made it very clear that he believes
that's the appropriate way to resolve this matter. An Israeli court
has also made a ruling, and Israel is working to meet the court's
concerns that it raised. We've always said that Israel has the right
to defend itself, but that as it takes steps to do that, it should keep
in mind the plight of the Palestinian people and work in a way that
doesn't place undo hardships on them, so that they can move about
freely.

We've made our views -- we've made our views known on that. And
the way to resolve this is through the road map. And we have the
opportunity before us to get started again on the road map and get to a
negotiated --

Q How have you made your views known? By vetoing everything?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- and to get to a negotiated settlement.

Steve.

Q Why isn't Lee Hamilton briefing the President directly today,
instead of briefing the staff and then the staff briefs him?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's always the way it was set up, Steve,
that they were going to brief the White House staff today. I think
it's for a half hour, hour briefing. The President looks forward to
receiving the full report tomorrow. He will receive the full, final
report and looks forward to looking at it and looks forward to seeing
what the recommendations are from the 9/11 Commission. He greatly
appreciates all their hard work and he will see the full report
tomorrow, versus just a shorter briefing today.

Q Does he get briefed tomorrow, as well, or does he just read
--

MR. McCLELLAN: Oh, he's been briefed throughout this process by
White House staff, and he will continue to be briefed by the White
House staff. And I'm sure he'll receive a report on the briefing
that's going on this afternoon.

I would remind you that the President sat down with all members of
the commission for some two-and-a-half hours just a few months ago.

Q Two questions. Just a follow-up on Helen's question. You
mentioned the Quartet. Every member of the Quartet, every member of
the European Union and Russia and, of course, the United Nations,
supported this resolution in the General Assembly. Does the relative
isolation of the United States hinder the effectiveness of the
President's diplomacy in the Middle East?

MR. McCLELLAN: Terry, look, the President has always stood behind
the right of Israel to defend itself when it comes to addressing the
security situation in the Middle East. He's also called for a
Palestinian leadership that is committed to fighting terrorism and
building a unified security structure to do so. And that's what we
need. We have an opportunity before us now -- and this is where the
President's focus is -- to move forward on the road map. There has
been an historic and bold proposal put forward by Prime Minister Sharon
where Israel will pull out of Gaza and remove settlements in parts of
the West Bank, as well. And so it's important for the Palestinians to
focus on getting the institutions in place necessary for a democratic
state to emerge.

And the President has been leading on this issue and pushing for
the political solution to move forward. And that's what we will
continue to do. We don't believe that the U.N. resolution is the
appropriate way to go. The appropriate solution is to follow the road
map to get to the political solution that has been outlined.

Q Can I follow up on that?

Q Sure. Go ahead.

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead.

Q Does the President think Israel is now in greater danger due
to the growing violence and anarchy in Gaza?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, in terms of the situation in Gaza, I
addressed that the other day. I said that it's important -- and I was
talking about little bit about it when Helen asked the question
initially -- that it's important that the Palestinian leaders focus on
creating the institutions necessary for a democratic state to emerge.
I think you're seeing that the Palestinian people really yearn for
Palestinian leaders that are not tainted by corruption and that are
committed to fighting terrorism and building the institutions necessary
--

Q -- they're yearning not to be demolished.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- for the kind of leaders to emerge that will be
in place when there is a democratic state to emerge.

Q Does the U.S. think this is the time to oust Yasser Arafat?

MR. McCLELLAN: We've made our views known about Mr. Arafat. He
has certainly not been part of the solution. And that's why it's
important to have institutions in place for leaders to emerge that are
committed to fighting terrorism, and committed to moving forward on the
road map.

All parties have responsibilities under the road map. And we want
all parties to meet those responsibilities. That's what we continue to
urge. On the specific issue of the security barrier, we have made our
views very well known to the Israelis. And an Israeli court has ruled
on this, as well. And Israel is working to take steps to address what
the court has said on that matter.

Q Scott, is the administration --

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Bill.

Q Is the administration concerned --

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Kathleen.

Q -- that the 9/11 report will outline 10 opportunities, missed
opportunities to have derailed the 9/11 attack, six of them occurring
during the Bush administration?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know if that's quite the way the report
will describe it. Obviously, like I said, we look forward to seeing
what the report says, and what it recommends, so we will have a final
copy of that report tomorrow. We will take a close look at it, and the
President has made it very clear if there are additional steps that
they recommend that can help us build upon the steps that we've already
taken to better protect the American people since September 11th, then
he welcomes those recommendations, and I expect he would move forward
on those recommendations that he believes will help us do a better job
of protecting the American people.

Q Are you concerned that the implication may be that the
administration simply didn't do enough, could have done more to prevent
the attacks?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, a couple of things here. One, I think you've
heard directly from the President. The President made it very clear
that if there were something that had come to our attention that could
have helped us prevent the September 11th attacks from happening, the
President would have moved heaven and earth to stop those attacks.
He's made that very clear.

The fact of the matter is, we were not on war footing prior to
September 11th. Now we are a nation at war. We are engaged in a
global war on terrorism. But the threat from terrorism was building
for more than a decade. This was a threat that was emerging for quite
some time. I expect that the 9/11 Commission will talk about how the
national security and counterterrorism apparatus of the United States
did not evolve with that emerging, building terrorist threat.

What this President has done since September 11th is engage in a
broad war on terrorism. We are fighting that war on many fronts.
We're cracking down on terrorists' financing. We are going on the
offensive, taking the fight to the enemy. He recognized that it is no
longer just a law enforcement matter. There are things we can do on
the law enforcement front, as well, but this is a broad war. You're
seeing great change in places like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and
Afghanistan and Iraq because of the actions that we are taking.

And we have also taken action here at home to go on the offensive.
This President worked to pass the Patriot Act, to break down the wall
between law enforcement and intelligence, so that we could disrupt and
prevent attacks from happening here at home. This President worked to
create the Terrorist Threat Integration Center, which allows us to
better share and gather intelligence information.

The President also worked to create the largest reorganization in
some 50 years of our federal government, by creating the Department of
Homeland Security. We've strengthened our aviation security. So there
are a number of steps that we have taken, but we welcome the
commission's report. We have worked very closely with them on their
efforts. We appreciate their hard work and we look forward to
reviewing their recommendations. And certainly this President will
always move forward on recommendations that he believes build upon the
steps that we've already taken, so that we can better protect the
American people.

Q Speaking of things that didn't come to your attention, the
Attorney General has testified that the after action report from the
millennium 2000 terror threats was not brought to the administration's
attention before 9/11. So does the administration share the view of
some on Capitol Hill, that what Mr. Berger was doing might not have
been inadvertent, might have been, in gathering up these copies of this
report, aimed at preventing some embarrassment?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, this is an ongoing criminal investigation
that has been going on, apparently, for several months. And we believe
it's best to direct those questions to the Department of Justice,
they're the ones that are overseeing this investigation, and that's our
stance.

Q But aren't you concerned, as some Republicans on Capitol Hill
have expressed that they are?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, there's an investigation going on and they're
looking into all these matters, and we need to let the investigation
proceed.

Q Was anyone at the White House aware of this investigation
prior to this week?

MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, I'm glad you asked that question, because
I first became aware when the news reports came out. But my
understanding is that this investigation has been going on for several
months and that some officials in our Counsel's Office were contacted,
as part of the investigation. Because, if you'll remember, the
Counsel's Office is the one that is coordinating with the September
11th Commission the production of documents. And since this relates to
some documents, the Counsel's Office was contacted as part of that
investigation.

Q So the White House was aware that Mr. Berger was being
investigated for this?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the Counsel's -- some people in the Counsel's
Office were contacted regarding this investigation.

Q Yes, but who else knew? Did the President know? Did the
Chief of Staff know?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, what I know is that a few individuals in the
Counsel's Office were contacted. I first became aware of it
yesterday. I'll do some -- if I have any further information, I'll be
glad to get that information to you.

Q Was Judge Gonzales aware?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes. I mean, I said, some individuals in the
Counsel's Office.

Q Was the President aware?

Q Scott, two questions --

Q Before you -- still on this. Do you know if the President
was aware that an investigation was going on?

MR. McCLELLAN: I said if I got any additional information -- what
I know is that some people in the Counsel's Office were contacted as
part of the investigation. That's what I know. If I've got additional
information, I'll make sure that --

Q But you don't know whether the President knew?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- I get it to you.

Q There is a concern among -- there's a couple partisan charges
here. On one side, it's the Democrats who say if this thing has been
going on since last October, the Bush Justice Department had to leak
this thing just before the Democratic Convention, just before the 9/11
report to make Democrats look bad, or to deflect attention from the
9/11 report. Can you comment on that first?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not aware of how this story came about. And I
don't think -- I know of no one in the White House that is aware of how
this story came about. But the issue is that it's an ongoing criminal
investigation, and that's a serious matter. So the questions are best
directed to the Department of Justice on this matter.

Q The other partisan charges being leveled is that Berger, as
an informal advisor to Senator Kerry, may have been using documents
that would ultimately inform Senator Kerry's thinking on developing
policy. That view has been expressed by the reelection campaign. Does
the White House share that concern?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sure that all those matters will be looked into
by the people overseeing the investigation.

Q As part of the investigation?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sure that they will look into all those issues
that would be related to this investigation.

Q You just don't want to have a piece of this story, do you?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I think it's -- Bill, you've asked me about
other criminal investigations, and I've always said that, because it's
an ongoing investigation, it's best that we let the investigation
proceed, and that those questions be directed to the Department of
Justice. I understand your desire for information, but this is a
serious -- this is serious matter.

Q Scott, but why was the Counsel's Office informed? I mean,
obviously, they're the ones who are deciding which documents are
provided --

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't think I would describe it as "informed." I
think I would describe it as they were contacted as part of the
investigation, because, like I said, the Counsel -- our Counsel's
Office has been working very closely and cooperatively with the
September 11th Commission, and the Counsel's Office was the one
responsible for helping to make sure that documents were produced that
the commission needed to do their job. And the commission has pointed
out that they have had access to everything that they've needed to do
their job. So I think they were contacted in that context. And,
again, it's just not appropriate for me to go further than that.

Q Wait, wait, wait, I don't follow.

Q Hold on a second. If I understand this correctly, the
Counsel's Office had the final say over which documents -- both from
the Clinton administration and the Bush administration --

Q And you're saying that as a result of that responsibility,
they were brought in on this and contacted --

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that's the way I would look at it. Again,
I'm not going to -- it's not appropriate for me to get into talking
about an ongoing criminal investigation. But I did want you to know
that information. I did find that out since yesterday.

Q Okay, and one further point on that. Is there any suspicion
here that there are documents that were -- that are missing for which
there are not copies? I mean, we know that the commission, or we've
been told that the commission did, in fact, get the final copy of the
after action report. Is there any --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, the commission has spoken to that specific
issue. And I think, again, it's an ongoing criminal investigation.
There are issues that the Justice Department is looking into, and
they're the ones where you should direct those questions.

Q Right. But I'm saying you had the responsibility to turn
over the documents. Are there any documents you were not able to turn
over because they are missing?

MR. McCLELLAN: Jim, again, because these questions relate to an
ongoing criminal investigation, you need to direct all those questions
to the Justice Department. Obviously, our Counsel's Office is always
going to cooperate with investigations of this nature.

Q One other thing, if I could. You said the President will
move quickly on this stuff. When he gets the report, and people sit
down and read it and look at the recommendations, along with the
National Director, and so on and so forth, what's the process? Is the
President going to take this home at night and flip through it and come
back and say, I kind of like this, and I kind of like this? Or is
there a group --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he said on Monday that he looked forward to
seeing what the recommendations are, so, yes, he will look at them --

Q I mean, is there a group that's assigned to sit down and wade
through this?

MR. McCLELLAN: And as I said, as well, that we're open to
additional ideas that build upon the steps we've already taken to
improve our intelligence-gathering and our intelligence capabilities,
so that we can better protect the American people.

Q No, I'm just suggesting to you, once the report is read by
everyone, there are going to be all sorts of proposals from all sorts
of people, and I'm just wondering if the White House has some plan to
sit down, evaluate these things, cull among the various
recommendations, and decide rather quickly what it wants to embrace, if
anything?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think the way I describe it is that, yes,
we are going to look very closely at these recommendations and
seriously give them consideration. The work of the 9/11 Commission is
very important, and even more so are their recommendations that can
help us build upon the steps we've taken to protect the American
people; that can help us do an even better job of making sure that the
executive branch and the Congress get the best possible intelligence.

The President is focused on three specific areas, first and
foremost. That is, bolstering our human intelligence; that is, making
sure that we have the best technology possible to stay ahead of the
terrorists and their adjusting tactics; and to make sure that we are
sharing and coordinating that intelligence in the most effective way
possible. And so that's the way that he'll look at it.

But that's why I pointed out we've already made significant steps
to move forward on intelligence reform and improve our intelligence
capabilities to address the threats of the 21st century.

Q You missed one little point. You said that you have given
everything to the commission that they asked for?

MR. McCLELLAN: They've expressed that they've had access to all
the information they need to do their job. They've expressed that.

Q Totally?

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Goyal.

Q Two questions about this report. Some members of Congress
have said that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were behind the attack on the
United States, as far as finding the terrorists and training camps and
all. Now you say this earlier, that there have been some changes in
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan because of steps. Can you describe those
steps, which steps were --

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes. The President has been talking about this a
lot, because if you look back at where we were prior to September 11th
and where we are today, we've made significant progress to make America
safer. There's more that we need to do, and this President is
continuing to wage a broad war on terrorism to make America safer and
more secure from the threats from terrorism. And he's spoken
specifically about those two countries you mentioned, where he talked
about Pakistan before was one of the few countries that recognized the
Taliban government in Afghanistan, and al Qaeda was able to move about
in Pakistan. Today, Pakistan recognizes that al Qaeda is the enemy and
they're taking the fight to them within their own borders.

And in Saudi Arabia, there has been great change, as well. Saudi
Arabia recognizes that al Qaeda is an enemy within their own country,
and they're going on the offensive and bringing terrorists to justice,
as well.

` Let me go to Terry.

Q Second --

MR. McCLELLAN: Let me keep going.

Q When you mention the White House being in contact with the
Counsel's Office, when did the Justice Department contact them? Was
that last October? Was that a couple --

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, this is an ongoing criminal investigation.
I'm going to defer all questions to those at the Department of Justice
who are overseeing the investigation --

Q Well, you raised the --

MR. McCLELLAN: But I said -- I pointed out -- that's why I pointed
to you that this investigation has been going on for quite some time.
And I think if you look at it in that context, of course, it would be
logical to conclude that they would contact the Counsel's Office as
part of the investigation.

Q But when?

Q You can't tell us when?

Q What does it -- why can't you say when?

MR. McCLELLAN: It's been a while since they first contacted.

Q I just want to clarify one point, which is, moving with the
9/11 -- working with the 9/11 Commission, this White House has had the
responsibility to turn over classified materials from this
administration and Clinton administration documents. Am I
understanding that right?

MR. McCLELLAN: We oversaw the coordination of that process, to
make sure that they had the documents they needed to do their job.

Q All right. So was there a situation where --

MR. McCLELLAN: And to look at all those classified issues, as
well, with them.

Q Right. And Jim alluded to this, where there were actually
questions about document A, B, or C, they couldn't locate and they were
looking into -- investigating where they were, and that's when they let
you all know that, in the beginning of the process?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, you're asking all these questions related to
an ongoing criminal investigation. It's not appropriate for me to get
into discussing those issues.

Q But you can tell us when they were contacted.

MR. McCLELLAN: I said it's been quite some time ago when they were
first contacted.

Q Scott, back on the 9/11 Commission. I'm just a little
confused about when in this process the President has the time to sit
down and directly talk to members of the 9/11 Commission, understand
their conclusions. I heard you before say that, of course, he's met
with them. But that was -- that was a different kind of a session.
There, they were trying to extract information from him about what he
knew. At what point does he get to sit down and say, okay, what's not
working in our process? What do we need to change?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, apparently, it's going to be a pretty lengthy
report that they will be publishing tomorrow. And those
recommendations will be spelled out in detail in that report.

Q I'm not doubting he can take it home and read it. What I'm
asking you is, have you worked out any mechanism by which time the
President can interact with this commission and seek the logic behind
some of their thinking? Or is that not what you intend?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, the full -- if you'll let me finish my
statement. The President will receive the full and final report
tomorrow, with all the recommendations. He looks forward to taking a
look at those recommendations. He has also been briefed by White House
staff throughout this process. He will continue to be briefed by White
House staff.

The briefing that you're referring to today that's going on was
scheduled as a briefing for key White House staff. And it's not a
lengthy briefing. It's an overview of the report, itself. And the
President -- the President will be briefed on those matters, as well.
And I expect that he will certainly stay in touch with the commission
as needed, as we move forward on looking at some of the recommendations
in the report. And I expect -- yes, I expect he would be talk -- that
they would talk to him about the report today.

Q Just clarify for me. You said --

MR. McCLELLAN: The White House staff is always in close contact
with him, they talk to him throughout the day.

Q But when you say the President will be briefed, as well, do
you mean by his staff or by the commission members?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I mean, if he needs to talk to the commission
members about issues relating to the report that he will be getting a
copy of tomorrow, then I'm sure he will seek them out and talk to
them.

Q But currently there is no scheduled --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we'll keep you posted if there are any
additional briefings specifically for him by Chairman Kean and Vice
Chairman Hamilton --

Q But none envisioned right now?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- but he's already met with them for a lengthy
period of time, all the members of the commission. He's familiar with
many of the issues that they've been looking at.

Q Scott, as Commander -- I have a two-part -- as
Commander-in-Chief, the President is surely aware of the fact that the
mother of U.S. Air Force Major Gregory Stone, who was killed in Iraq,
has called the film maker Michael Moore, "a maggot that eats off the
dead," for using the Major's funeral in his film without the family's
permission -- and also using, without family permission, footage of
Army Reservist Peter Damon, who lost part of both of his arms.

And my question, the Commander-in-Chief wants the Defense
Department to give every assistance possible if these two service
families sue Moore, doesn't he?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Les, let me point out that the President is
saddened by the loss of any life of our fallen in Iraq or Afghanistan.
The President mourns the loss of each and every one of our fallen.
They are sacrificing to make America safer and to defend freedom around
the world. And the President meets frequently with the families of the
fallen, and he meets frequently with those who have been wounded, as
well. We are forever grateful for the service and sacrifice of the
fallen.

I think in regards to this movie, it's come up previously. I'm not
going to keep discussing it here in this room.

Q Scott, would you be at all surprised if the Democratic
National Convention were to have as its speaker Ronald Reagan, Jr.,
introduced by Linda Ronstadt? (Laughter.)

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not sure what that schedule is --

Q Would you be surprised?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- but if you have recommendations that you want to
make to the Democrats on their convention, I think you should forward
those recommendations to the Democratic National Committee.

Q Wouldn't you say that it's full of surprises?

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Heidi.

Q Scott, can you confirm that the President struck a deal with
Democrats to extend the tax cuts for two years?

MR. McCLELLAN: I've seen reports. In terms of what is going on in
Congress in terms of the tax cuts, the President has made it clear --
he makes it clear in about every speech -- that it's important to make
these tax cuts permanent. The three that were specifically focused on
this year are the child -- the expansion of the child tax credit, the
marriage penalty relief, and the expansion of the 10 percent bracket.
The President does not believe we should be raising taxes on families
with children or raising taxes on married couples or raising taxes on
those in the lower income brackets. And that's why he's called for
making these tax cuts permanent.

We're encouraged that Congress recognizes the importance of not
raising taxes. This congressional process is ongoing at this point,
and we will continue working closely with Congress to make sure that we
do not raise taxes on the American people. And, again, the President
will continue to urge the importance of making these tax cuts
permanent.

Q So are you knocking down the specific report that there is a
deal that --

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know what report you're referring to. In
terms of discussions with Congress, obviously, I don't negotiate from
this podium.

Q On one of those provisions, does -- what is the President's
position --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll come back to you. Richard.

Q With regard to Iran, more reports have been coming out about
their possible links to terrorism and 9/11 and so forth. Is there any
second guessing going on in the White House that maybe the
administration should have been tougher with Iran and less tough with
Iraq?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think we are being tough with Iran. If you'll
recall, the President in his -- I believe his 2002 State of the Union
address talked about Iran, he talked about North Korea, he talked about

Iraq. What September 11th taught us was that we must confront
threats before they fully materialize. And this President is
confronting the threats that we face around the world. There are
different ways and different strategies for confronting different
threats. We are working to get Iran to abandon its pursuit of nuclear
weapons right now. That has been a multilateral process to keep the
pressure on Iran and encourage them that they need to pursue a
different approach. And we continue to call on Iran to abandon their
nuclear program.

Q Any response --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we have made some progress in the sense that
the multilateral -- through the multilateral process. The
international community recognizes the importance of getting Iran to
stop its pursuit of nuclear weapons. And so we're continuing to move
forward to address that threat.

We have also spoken about Iran's continued support for and
harboring of terrorists, particularly Hezbollah. We've also called on
Iran to turn over those al Qaeda leaders that are in their country to
their country of origin. So there are a number of ways that we're
addressing the issues and concerns we have with regards to Iran. There
are serious concerns. We've also confronted the other threats that we
face in this world. That's why I talked about how we're engaged in a
broad war on terrorism. It's a strategy that recognizes that we must
confront threats before it's too late, before they fully materialize.
And that's what we're doing around the world in not only Iran, but
North Korea and elsewhere. And we've been pursuing these efforts for
quite some time.

Go ahead.

Q Scott, as a follow-up to Heidi, are you saying that the White
House is no longer insisting on a five-year extension of the tax --

MR. McCLELLAN: You've heard directly from the President about the
importance of making these tax cuts permanent. And we don't need to be
raising taxes, as I said, on married couples, families with children,
or people in that lower income bracket.

Q Right. And a two-year extension would not be raising taxes
--

MR. McCLELLAN: And now I think you're trying to get me to
negotiate from the podium, which I don't do. We're encouraged Congress
recognized the importance of not raising taxes, and we'll continue to
work with them.

Q So two years would be acceptable if that's the best you can
get?

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Geoff. I've already answered that. Go
ahead.

Q At the same time the U.N. is passing a resolution to make
sure Israel can't defend herself, it's stonewalling the investigation
into the corruption with the U.N. Oil for Food scandal. Iraqi
Ambassador Rend al-Rahim believes that this investigation needs to move
forward quickly and aggressively, if for no other reason that Iraq
needs the money. It's $10 billion. What --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Paul Volcker has been appointed to oversee
that investigation and address those issues. These are serious
allegations, and that investigation is ongoing.

Q But it's not going very far very fast. And my question is,
is the administration going to increase the pressure on the U.N. --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll see if there's any update beyond --

Q -- to the --

MR. McCLELLAN: I'll see if there's any update to the status of the
investigation.

Q NBC is now working on -- working on this story. The New York
Times reported it quite a long time ago.

MR. McCLELLAN: Right.

Q I started talking about it in March. It's --

MR. McCLELLAN: And we've expressed our concerns about the U.N. Oil
for Food program, as well. It's an investigation that is ongoing at
this point.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, he's continuing to move forward on the
temporary worker program that he has talked about that will match
willing workers with willing employers. He laid out some clear
principles for that approach. And we will continue to work with
Congress on these issues. We stay in close contact with Congress on
these reforms that the President has proposed.

Q If he is for it, why did the White House block the vote on
this resolution last week?

MR. McCLELLAN: Why, I'm sorry?

Q Why do you block the vote? There are some reports that you
were against to put that in vote --

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know specifically what you're referring
to. I'll be glad to take a look at it. But in terms of the
President's proposals, you've seen what he's put forward. He remains
firmly committed to that. It's an important priority. Obviously,
Congress sets the legislative schedule. And we'll continue working
with them on this issue, and continue encouraging them to act on it.
You heard the President recently speak on this issue about -- I think
about a week ago, when he addressed LULAC.

Q One more question on tax policy. What is the President's
position on whether or not the income ceiling for the child tax credit
should be raised from a little over $100,000 to a little over $300,000,
as some have proposed in Congress?

MR. McCLELLAN: Refresh me on this issue.

Q Some people in Congress are proposing that the income cap for
receiving the child tax credit be raised from a little over $100,000 to
over $300,000.

MR. McCLELLAN: I think that this is one that we've addressed
previously. Let me go take a look at it, and I'll make sure that I get
you the response to that.